On Monday morning, an explosion occurred at the factory of South Korean defense company Hanwha Aerospace located in Daejeon, sending thick black smoke billowing into the air visible for several kilometers. The incident resulted in a single-story building on the site being completely destroyed.
According to reports from Yonhap News Agency, at around 10:59 a.m. on June 1st, an explosion suddenly rocked the Hanwha Aerospace factory in Daejeon, resulting in 5 fatalities, 1 person critically injured, and 1 person lightly injured.
The fire department issued a Level 1 emergency response at around 11:17 a.m., and by approximately 1:07 p.m., the blaze was extinguished, with the Level 1 emergency response subsequently lifted.
The explosion took place in the cleaning room of Building 56 at Hanwha Aerospace, as explained by the company’s responsible person. At the time of the incident, there were a total of 7 employees conducting the cleaning of explosive residue on tools used in the manufacturing of rocket propellants. Out of these, 5 individuals perished at the scene of the explosion, while the remaining 2 managed to escape. One of the injured workers suffered severe burns over the entire body and is currently receiving medical treatment, while the other with minor injuries has already returned home after treatment.
According to Reuters, the affected factory area is one of the vital facilities of Hanwha Aerospace, primarily responsible for the development of large propulsion systems and ground-to-ground weapon systems.
Following the incident, Hanwha Aerospace’s stock price dropped by 2.8% in afternoon trading, while the parent company Hanwha Corp’s stock also plummeted by 3.4%.
Hanwha Aerospace, a defense industry company under the large South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group, has secured arms procurement contracts from multiple countries, including Europe, amidst the recent geopolitical tensions.
This is not the first explosion incident to occur at this military factory. In May 2018, an explosion at the same facility led to 2 fatalities and 3 individuals sustaining severe burns, resulting in eventual fatalities due to ineffective medical treatment. Another explosion incident in February 2019 claimed 3 lives.